Sensex closes below 25,000-level; crashes 550 points

Zee Media Bureau

Mumbai: Indian shares remained under pressure for a fourth straight day as the benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled by over 500 points to close at over four month closing low.

Sensex plummeted 554.50 points or 2.18 percent to close at 24,851.83 while the NSE Nifty fell 172.70 points to close at 7,568.30.

Global sentiment, already rattled by an diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as concerns over China's economy, took a further hit after North Korea said it carried out a hydrogen bomb test.

Asian markets were in deep red with Shanghai shares crashing 7.32 percent, forcing authorities to suspend trading, less than half an hour after opening.

Meanwhile, in other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 3.05 percent while Japan's Nikkei shed 1.78 percent in early trade today.